Ashley Abbott Casting When was the role cast? Eileen Davidson originated the role of Ashley Abbott in June 1982, Who got that role? Eileen Davidson Did she stay for the duration of the show? Eileen Davidson originated the role of Ashley Abbott in June 1982, until her first exit on December 2, 1988. who replaced Eileen? The role was immediately recast with Brenda Epperson, what year was this? Brenda Epperson, who portrayed Ashley for seven years from December 5, 1988
Did Eileen ever return?
Did Eileen Davidson ever return to playing Ashley Abbott?
Eileen Davidson originated the role of Ashley Abbott in June 1982, until her first exit on December 2, 1988. The role was immediately recast with Brenda Epperson, who portrayed Ashley for seven years from December 5, 1988 before leaving the role on December 21, 1995. Shari Shattuck then assumed the role from March 12, 1996 to February 22, 1999, with Davidson returning on March 19, 1999. Davidson took maternity leave in the summer of 2003. In 2006, news broke that Davidson was to exit the soap opera, and she last aired on January 11, 2007. She then carried the role of Ashley over to the show's sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. She last aired on The Bold and the Beautiful on July 4, 2008, before returning to The Young and the Restless on September 25, 2008.  In May 2012, Davidson informed followers on her Twitter page that she had been let go from The Young and the Restless. Davidson further confirmed she did not know why she was let go, but was seeing the positive light from it. It was then announced by Nelson Branco that Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted Davidson on both The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives, but that Y&R would not share the actress, leading to Sony terminating her contract with the soap. Thus it was announced that Davidson would reprise her role as Kristen Blake on the NBC soap. Davidson made her onscreen exit on August 3, 2012. Speaking about her upcoming return to Days and departure from the show with TV Guide, Davidson stated: "What happened to me at Y&R was shocking -- I've been in this business a very long time and have never seen anything like it -- but it's not like I haven't been fired before." She also went on to say that "I was led to believe that I was fired, though it was a bad news-good news thing -- the bad news is Y&R is firing you, the good news is Days wants you." In February 2013, it was announced that Davidson would return to The Young and the Restless for "very special episodes" that would commemorate the show's 40th anniversary. In spite of this, the actress remained a part of Days of our Lives full-time.  In August 2013, following the announcement of Davidson's departure from Days of our Lives, it was announced that she would again reprise the role for three episodes airing in October, later returning for additional guest appearances. In June 2014, it was announced that Davidson had signed a two-year contract with The Young and the Restless to appear as a regular cast member again, and would return to the series in September. Davidson also revealed her contract would allow for her to continue making appearances on Days of Our Lives. CANNOTANSWER
Davidson returning on March 19, 1999.
Ashley Abbott is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless  and The Bold and the Beautiful, two American soap operas on the CBS network. She has been most notably portrayed by Eileen Davidson, who originated the role on June 11, 1982, before departing in 1988. Brenda Epperson portrayed Ashley from 1988 to 1995, before Shari Shattuck portrayed the role for the next three years, until Davidson's return on March 19, 1999. Davidson was nominated in 2003 for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and she later won that award in 2018.

The character is the daughter of Dina Mergeron and Brent Davis, although she believed John Abbott was her biological father until she reached adulthood. She has had relationships with various men throughout the years, most notably Steven Lassiter, Victor Newman, Blade Bladeson, Cole Howard and Brad Carlton. She has a daughter with Victor, Abby Newman. She is also known for her business contributions to her father's company, Jabot Cosmetics, much like her brother Jack. In 2006, it was announced that Davidson was to leave The Young and the Restless. She last appeared on January 11, 2007. Shortly after, the character crossed over to its sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. There, she became intertwined with the Forresters and Forrester Creations; she also had a romance with Ridge Forrester. She left The Bold and the Beautiful in 2008 and returned to The Young and the Restless, where she has since had relationships with Victor once again and Tucker McCall.

In May 2012, it was announced that Davidson was let go from The Young and the Restless, leading to her exit on August 3, 2012. Davidson initially hadn't known why, but it was reported later that Sony Pictures Television terminated her contract with the show for her to return to Days of Our Lives as Kristen DiMera, a character she had portrayed there over 14 years prior. Davidson made a brief return to The Young and the Restless in March 2013 for the soap's 40th anniversary. After subsequent guest appearances, Davidson returned to The Young and the Restless on September 3, 2014, as a series regular. In 2018, Davidson again exited the role; she returned in March 2019, following the installment of head writer Josh Griffith.

Casting
Eileen Davidson originated the role of Ashley Abbott on June 11, 1982, until her first exit on December 2, 1988. The role was immediately recast with Brenda Epperson, who portrayed Ashley for seven years from December 5, 1988, before leaving the role on December 21, 1995. Shari Shattuck then assumed the role from March 21, 1996, to February 22, 1999, with Davidson returning on March 19, 1999. Davidson took maternity leave in the summer of 2003. In 2006, news broke that Davidson was to exit the soap opera, and she last aired on January 11, 2007. She then carried the role of Ashley over to the show's sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. On September 25, 2008, Davidson returned to The Young and the Restless, and subsequently made one final appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful on November 25 of the same year when Ashley resigned from her position at Forrester Creations.

In May 2012, Davidson informed followers on her Twitter page that she had been let go from The Young and the Restless. Davidson further confirmed she did not know why she was let go, but was seeing the positive light from it. It was then announced by Nelson Branco that Sony Pictures Entertainment wanted Davidson on both The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives, but that Y&R would not share the actress, leading to Sony terminating her contract with the soap. Thus it was announced that Davidson would reprise her role as Kristen Blake on the NBC soap. Davidson made her onscreen exit on August 3, 2012. Speaking about her upcoming return to Days and departure from the show with TV Guide, Davidson stated: "What happened to me at Y&R was shocking — I've been in this business a very long time and have never seen anything like it — but it's not like I haven't been fired before." She also went on to say that "I was led to believe that I was fired, though it was a bad news-good news thing — the bad news is Y&R is firing you, the good news is Days wants you." In February 2013, it was announced that Davidson would return to The Young and the Restless for "very special episodes" that would commemorate the show's 40th anniversary. In spite of this, the actress remained a part of Days of our Lives full-time.

In August 2013, following the announcement of Davidson's departure from Days of our Lives, it was announced that she would again reprise the role for three episodes airing in October, later returning for a guest appearance on November 27 and December 2, 2013. In June 2014, it was announced that Davidson had signed a two-year contract with The Young and the Restless to appear as a regular cast member again, and would return to the series in September. Davidson also revealed her contract would allow for her to continue making appearances on Days of Our Lives.

In 2018, Julia D'Arcy Badinger portrayed a younger Ashley in flashbacks. That June, Daytime Confidential broke news that Davidson had quit the role. Davidson last appeared in the role on October 29, 2018. On February 25, 2019, Davidson announced she would return to the role for several appearances; first airing on March 29, 2019. Since then, she has remained on the show on a recurring status.

Character development
Davidson describes Ashley as a "dynamic character". She has been characterized as "sassy" yet an "honorable heroine". The Record describes Ashley as "headstrong". She is recognized for her unluckiness and long-term suffering. Davidson stated, "She is a heroine.  So often she was being victimized by people and trying to always rise above that, and being driven insane and losing babies, etc." In 1990, The Washington Times described Ashley as a "smart woman", known for her "level head" and "business success". Ashley is dedicated to her work and has a strong sense of family. She is a beloved member of the Genoa City community. Her passion for the family business, Jabot Cosmetics, cost Ashley her marriage to Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck).

Ashley has been involved in a number of different romantic relationships over her duration on the series. Her relationship with Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) came as a shock, due to Brad being beneath her socially. Epperson, who played Ashley at the time, was uncertain of Ashley and Brad's decision to get married.

Davidson opined that a storyline in which Victor's son Adam Newman (Michael Muhney) gaslighted a pregnant Ashley in 2009 was payback for Ashley stealing Victor's sperm years ago to conceive Abby. She stated: "I think the character really suffered after she stole Victor's sperm from Diane [...] After that, the viewers lost a lot of respect for Ashley. People wanted Ashley to pay for it. My opinion? Although last summer's gaslighting storyline was used to propel a lot of other stories, it was also about making Ashley pay. Now we can close that entire chapter because Ashley paid. It was Ashley's redemption". Around this story arc, Tommy Garrett of Canyon News described Ashley as a "damsel in distress", stating that she had a "twisted mind" due to suffering a hysterical pregnancy after losing her unborn child at the hands of Adam.

Following the death of John, Jack works desperately to remove his wife Gloria Abbott (Judith Chapman) from the family, even illegally making changes to John's will. Explaining Ashley's ambivalence towards the situation, Davidson stated: "Just because you don't like somebody doesn't mean you should do something illegal [...] The point is, their father loved her. And even if they don't like her, they have to honor what he wanted. Ashley never wanted to do anything that went against her father's wishes." The actress stated that Ashley "just wants" Jack to "do the right thing".

Storylines 
Ashley is born on April 29, 1960, to John Abbott, Sr. (Brett Halsey, later Jerry Douglas) and Dina Abbott Mergeron (Marla Adams). Twenty-two years later, after completing college, Ashley returns to Genoa City and applies for a job as a lab chemist at Jabot Cosmetics, the family company, using the name Susan Ashley so she will be hired for her skills, not her family connections. She takes over as president of the company after her brother Jack Abbott (Terry Lester, later Peter Bergman) is shot on his one-year anniversary by his wife, Patty Williams. Ashley commences an unlucky streak of relationships; starting with French artist Eric Garrison, who slept with her mother, and Marc Mergeron, who is revealed to be her former stepbrother. Capitalizing on her unluckiness, it is revealed that Ashley's biological father is Brent Davis, not John Abbott, who remains unaware of Ashley's true paternity. Trauma leads Ashley to become missing with amnesia, where she is found by business tycoon Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), who takes her back to Genoa City. Ashley has an affair with Victor, who is married to Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott). To spite Ashley, Nikki engages in an affair with Jack and tries to have Victor's brother, Matt Miller, unsuccessfully seduce Ashley. Ultimately, Victor chooses to be with Ashley, angering Nikki. When Ashley falls pregnant with Victor's child, Nikki is diagnosed with cancer, causing Victor to leave Ashley, who secretly has an abortion. Ashley suffers a mental breakdown, before marrying her psychiatrist Steven Lassiter (Rod Arrants). Steven's former patient Leanna Randolph (Barbara Crampton) stalks the couple and attempts to destroy Ashley. She writes a biography about Victor that exposes information about his dysfunctional relationship with Ashley. Steven is later shot and killed by an unstable patient.

Following a short affair with Brad Carlton (Don Diamont), Ashley marries Victor. The marriage suffers because of Nikki's ongoing problems as well as Victor's daughter Victoria Newman's (Heather Tom) constant schemes to break them up. After her divorce from Victor, Ashley falls in love with Jabot's mysterious photographer Blade Bladeson (Michael Tylo), and they get married. Blade's vengeful twin brother Rick Bladeson arrives in town, holds Blade hostage and impersonates him. Eventually, Ashley and Blade's marriage ends. She then falls romantically for Kurt Costner (Leigh McCloskey), who is shot saving her from muggers. The romance is short-lived, as Kurt leaves Ashley to be with Victor's ex-wife Hope Wilson (Signy Coleman). Ashley nearly engages in an affair with Victoria's husband Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck), an author who is writing a novel about her life, which requires them to spend time together. After Victoria's pregnancy results in a stillborn baby, Cole divorces her and marries Ashley. The marriage suffers a rough patch when Ashley travels to Madrid to help her stepbrother Rafael Delgado (Carlos Bernard), who is dealing with dangerous customers after selling them forged paintings. Cole assumes that she is having an affair with Rafael, unaware of who he is. During this, Victoria attempts to sabotage the marriage. Ultimately, upon Ashley's return to Genoa City, the couple divorce.

By 2000, one of Jack's former lovers and Victor's latest ex-wife, Diane Jenkins (Alex Donnelley) steals Victor's sperm from a sperm bank, though Nikki switches the sample with Jack's sperm. Ashley then steals Victor's sperm and impregnates herself, claiming that the father is a stranger; this was to make up for the abortion she had years prior. She then marries Brad Carlton and gives birth to Abby Carlton, who is raised to believe she is the daughter of Brad. Ashley is diagnosed with breast cancer, and feeling that she may not have time left, she confesses the truth about Abby's paternity to Victor. Brad and Ashley split, though are brought together when she becomes pregnant with their child. Stress over the battle between Jabot and Newman Enterprises causes her to leave town. While she is driving back, she is involved in a car accident, killing the unborn child. Victor is blamed for the child's death. Brad and Ashley's marriage continues to diminish and they are divorced. Tom Fisher (Roscoe Born), the dangerous ex-husband of John's wife Gloria Abbott (Judith Chapman), arrives in town. To protect his family, John shoots and kills Tom. Ashley covers this up by confessing to the crime herself, though John soon confesses himself, and is jailed for seven years. Gloria contaminates Ashley's new line of beauty cream, which causes a woman to die. John suffers a heart attack following his release from prison, and passes away. Jack removes Gloria from the family, and Ashley leaves town to escape the drama. During a business trip to France, Ashley meets Rick Forrester (Kyle Lowder), and they have an affair. She later travels to Los Angeles to work with Forrester Creations as a lab chemist. Rick and Ashley decide to keep their affair a secret, and she commences a serious relationship with Ridge Forrester (Ronn Moss), whom she becomes engaged to. Ridge's attentiveness to his former love Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) ends the engagement. Ashley then has a short-lived romance with Brooke's brother Storm (William deVry). Forrester Creations decide to discontinue their fragrance line, diminishing Ashley's role in the company. She leaves Los Angeles and moves to Europe with Abby.

Ashley locates a missing Victor in France, where they reunite. Upon their return to Genoa City as a couple, they are married and Ashley becomes pregnant. Victor's manipulative son Adam Newman (Michael Muhney) gas lights Ashley, making her believe that she is seeing the ghost of Victor's late wife, Sabrina Newman. Adam causes Ashley to fall down a staircase and lose her baby, though he convinces her that this was a dream, and she suffers from an hysterical pregnancy. Ashley checks herself into a psychiatric hospital where Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), also pregnant, is staying. After Ashley begins experiencing hysterical labor, Adam kidnaps Sharon's newborn baby Faith Newman and gives her to Ashley, with Sharon believing her baby was stillborn. In the ensuing months, Sharon marries Adam and develops a close friendship with Ashley. Six months after Faith is born, the doctor that delivered her (who was being blackmailed by Adam) confesses the truth in a letter. Ashley is forced to hand Faith over to Sharon and the child's father, Victor's son Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow). Ashley moves on with her life, and becomes engaged to wealthy tycoon Tucker McCall (Stephen Nichols). Prior to their engagement, he slept with Diane Jenkins (Maura West). They briefly split up because of Tucker's secret business plans with Jack, but reunite shortly thereafter. Abby accidentally runs over Tucker with her car, and Ashley protects her by taking the blame. She is accused of attempted murder and driving under the influence. All charges are ultimately dropped, and she marries Tucker. Their marriage quickly lands in divorce because of Tucker's business scheming and his affair with a previous lover, Harmony Hamilton. Ashley is later forced out as CEO of Jabot by Jack, and Ashley decides to move to New York City with Traci. She returns briefly a few months later for the wedding of Victor and Nikki. Months later, Ashley returns for the funeral of her niece Delia Abbott and comforts her brother Billy on his loss. She returns later to spend Thanksgiving with her family. While there, she sprained her ankle and met Dr. Stitch Rayburn (Sean Carrigan). Abby pushed for a romance, but Ashley reminded her that Stitch was married and had a young son.

In town for Abby and Tyler's engagement party, Ashley left early to drop by the hospital and "run into" Dr. Rayburn. But she found Victoria waiting for him to take her on a date. Ashley reminded her that she'd only been separated a week. When Ben arrived, Victoria was jealously catty, informing Ben that Ashley was her former stepmother.

In September 2014, Ashley did not show up in Genoa City after calling a meeting among the major Jabot stockholders, Jack, Billy, Traci, and Abby. Jack phoned her, and she explained that she was working on a special project, but had decided it was not yet ready to present to them.

The following month, Ashley returned and confirmed that her idea was for a revolutionary new fragrance, and she made a deal with Jack to become Co-CEO of Jabot again if it panned out. Abby had been treating Ben Rayburn nasty and spiteful ever since she found out that he had killed his father as a teen and taken someone else's identity to get his degree in medicine, and broken Victoria's heart. So Abby was shocked when Ashley hired Ben as a chemist for Jabot, despite Abby's objections. Ashley returned to New York City to wrap things up, tasking a reluctant Abby with bringing Ben up to speed on the cosmetics industry. Before she left, she consoled Billy that maybe she could help keep Ben away from Victoria for him.

On Ashley's return, she asked Ben to smell the new fragrance, he found it repulsive, but he kissed her. Ashley revealed that the fragrance contained pheromones, was a love potion, and the kiss had proven it. What she needed was his help to make the scent bearable. Later after Ben was arrested for fraud by a former patient, Ashley bailed him out. She confided in Ben, that she too had taken a murder rap for someone she loved. Ashley asked him to accompany her to Madison on business.

Ben showed up in Ashley's office drunk after seeing Billy and Victoria snuggling with their baby. Ashley threw him in the shower to sober him up, and he pulled her in too. They had sex, and Stitch spent the night. The next day, they agreed to tell no one after Ben found out that he still had a chance with Victoria.

Victor invited Ashley to lunch and tried to get her to take a deal to leave Jabot and work for him at Newman-Chancellor. But Ashley declined and left early, arriving back at the lab in time to see her lab assistant Tobias taking photos of their secret work. She guessed that he was working for Victor, and decided to let him continue to feed him bogus information. Ashley runs into Joe Clark at the athletic club. After referring to them having a good thing going back in New York City, they made plans to spend New Year's Eve together. In May 2017, Ashley's mother Dina came for a "permanent" visit. In October 2017, Dina exposed that John Abbott wasn't Ashley's father. Ashley leaves Genoa City in October 2018, following a series of events that leave her feeling alienated from both the Abbott family and Jabot, following the discovery that John and Dina left legal documents leaving all of Ashley's product patents to her; she confesses she's leaving for Paris to launch her own company with said-patents.

Reception
Jamey Giddens of Zap2it described Davidson as "one of Genoa City's most beloved heroines". Upon learning of Davidson's return to the role in 1999, Candace Havens of the McCook Daily Gazette declared that it was her who made Ashley "one of the most popular characters on soaps". In October 1999, when all of the Abbott siblings and their father John were together again, the Orlando Sentinel wrote: "In the meantime, having the entire Abbott clan together [...] is like a joyous family reunion for longtime viewers". John Goudas of The Gadsden Times was favorable of Epperson's performance two years into her duration, stating that she "is holding her own", though he noted her to be "Eileen's double". He stated that the front-burner status of Ashley and Brad's romantic storyline demonstrated that producer William J. Bell "has full confidence in [Epperson]".

The character has had a rivalry with Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) for many years; a poll run in 2008 by website Daytime Confidential asking, "Who would win a cat fight, Nikki Newman or Ashley Abbott?", saw 63% of voters say Nikki would win, with 37% saying Ashley would win. Giddens was favorable of Ashley running Jabot Cosmetics in 2008, writing: "Okay this has to stop. My heart simply can't take it. It's like the effects of yo-yo dieting. Everytime I sincerely think I am done with this genre, something like The Young and the Restless heiress Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson) announcing that she, not Lil' Billy (Billy Miller), not Cruella de Bardwell (Judith Chapman) or Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and no, not even Smilin' Jack (Peter Bergman) will be running Jabot Cosmetics, happens." In 2009, Jillian Bowe (also of Zap2it) wondered if Ashley was "insane in the membrane" due to her hearing a crying child around the Newman ranch, writing: "Is "The Beauty" starting to crack up? Certainly looks that when some freaky things take place on The Young and the Restless."

In 2010, Tommy Garrett of Canyon News praised a scene in which Ashley discovers a sex tape made by her spoiled daughter, Abby, that was posted online. Garrett wrote: "Davidson's performance is spot on as the mother Ashley who is fed up. The tears of despair and exhaustion came streaming down Davidson's beautiful face in character, while her spit-fire daughter didn't give a damn." Giddens later wrote that he thought it was "ridiculous" and "outlandish" to make Ashley pregnant with Victor's child in 2009. Also in 2010, Neeketa Borden of Zap2it created a list of "curiously quirky couplings", with Ashley and Tucker listed as an "honorable mention". In a separate review, Garrett credited Davidson as one of the "powerful performers who daytime TV could not exist without having". When the truth was going to come out that Faith Newman wasn't Ashley's child, Giddens wrote: "Lord, I hope this doesn't make my Ashley Abbott go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs again!" Mike Jubinville of Zap2it wrote that the character's relationship with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) had been a "slow burn, one going on for weeks, but one that is hard to miss. It has the ingredients of a hot romance." Upon Davidson's firing in 2012, Giddens wrote: "I am sincerely hoping the brass at Y&R can't possibly be this stupid, but if they are, Gary Tomlin better blow up Davidson's phone STAT about a Days of Our Lives return!"

References

External links
Ashley Abbott character profile on SoapCentral

The Young and the Restless characters
The Bold and the Beautiful characters
Television characters introduced in 1982
Fictional business executives
Fictional female businesspeople
Fictional socialites
Fictional characters with cancer
Fictional characters with neurological or psychological disorders
Female characters in television
Eileen (  or  ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to:

People

Artists
Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer
Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer
Eileen Folson (1956–2007), Broadway composer
Eileen Ford (1922–2014), American model agency executive
Eileen Gray (1878–1976), Irish furniture designer and architect
Eileen Shields (born 1970), American footwear designer and entrepreneur

Entertainers
Eileen (singer) (born 1941), American-born singer in France
Eileen Atkins (born 1934), English actress
Eileen Barton (1924–2006), American singer
Eileen Bellomo, member of rock group The Stilettos
Eileen April Boylan (born 1987), Filipina/Irish-American actress
Eileen Brennan (1932–2013), American actress
Eileen Catterson, Scottish fashion model and former Miss Scotland
Eileen Daly (born 1963), English actress, singer and director
Eileen Davidson (born 1959), American film actress
Eileen Derbyshire (born 1930), English character actress
Eileen DeSandre, American actress
Eileen Essell (1922–2015), Irish actress
Eileen Farrell (1920–2002), American opera and concert singer
Eileen Fulton (born 1933), American actress
Eileen Heckart (1919–2001), American actress
Eileen Helsby (born 1937), British actress
Eileen Herlie (1918–2008), Scottish-American actress
Eileen Ivers (born 1965), Irish-American musician
Eileen Joyce (1908–1991), Australian pianist
Eileen McCallum (born 1936), Scottish actress
Eileen O'Brien (actress), English actress
Eileen Pollock (1947–2020), Northern Ireland actress
Eileen Rodgers (1930–2003), American singer and Broadway performer
Eileen Rose (born 1965), American singer/songwriter
Eileen Ryan, American actress
Eileen Sedgwick (1898–1991), American silent film actress
Eileen Walsh (born 1977), Irish actress
Eileen Way (1911–1994), English actress
Eileen Whitfield, Canadian journalist and playwright
Eileen Wilson (born 1923), American television star
Eileen Yeow (born 1972), Singaporean actress

Politicians
Eileen Anderson (born 1928), Hawaii politician
Eileen Bell (born 1943), Northern Ireland politician
Eileen Desmond (1932–2005), British politician
Eileen C. Dugan (1945–1996), New York politician
Eileen Gordon (born 1946), United Kingdom politician
Eileen Hickey (New York politician) (1945–1999), New York politician
Eileen M. Hickey (1886–1960), Northern Irish politician
Eileen Lemass (born 1932), Irish politician
Eileen Malloy (born 1954), US ambassador
Eileen Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's (born 1931), Northern Irish politician
Eileen Parsons, British Virgin Islands politician

Sportspeople
Eileen Ash (1911–2021), English cricketer
Eileen Coparropa (born 1981), freestyle swimmer from Panama
Eileen Ellison (1910–1967), English Grand Prix racer
Eileen Gu (born 2003), Chinese freestyle skier
Eileen Hiscock (1909–1958), British athlete
Eileen McNamara (born 1952), equestrian
Eileen O'Keeffe (born 1981), Irish hammer thrower
Eileen Bennett Whittingstall (1907–1979), UK tennis player

Writers
Eileen Albrizio (born 1960), American writer
Eileen Chang (1920–1995), Chinese writer
Eileen Dunne (born 1958), Irish newsreader
Eileen Gunn (born 1945), American science fiction writer and editor
Eileen Kernaghan (born 1939), Canadian novelist
Eileen McNamara (born 1952), American columnist and professor
Eileen Myles (born 1949), American poet
Eileen Pollock (writer), American television screenwriter and producer
Eileen Power (1889–1940), British economic historian and medievalist
Eileen Tabios (born 1960), Filipino-American writer and artist
Eileen Wilks (born 1952), American fiction writer

Other
Eileen Barker (born 1938), UK professor
Eileen Caddy (1917–2006), founder of the Findhorn Foundation community
Eileen Collins (born 1956), American astronaut
Eileen de Coppet, Princess of Albania (1922–1985)
Eileen Rockefeller Growald (born 1952), daughter of David Rockefeller
Eileen McKenney, wife of American writer Nathanael West
Eileen Nearne (1921–2010), member of UK Special Operations Executive (SOE)
Eileen O'Shaughnessy, wife of British writer George Orwell
Eileen Saxon (1942–1945), infant known as "The Blue Baby"
Eileen Southern (1920–2002), African American musicologist
Eileen Tallman Sufrin (1913-1999), Canadian author and labour activist
Eileen Vidal (died 2003), kelper telephone and radio operator

Characters
Eileen Shallot, character in the novella The Dream Master
Birthday Girl: Eileen
Eileen the Crow, from the 2015 video game Bloodborne
Eileen Prince, mother of Severus Snape from the Harry Potter book series
Eileen, from the cartoon Regular Show
Eileen Galvin, from the horror video game Silent Hill 4
Eileen Grimshaw from Coronation Street
Eileen, a fairy in the charmed ridge level from Spyro: Year of the Dragon
 Eileen, a character from Tyler Perry's 2013 film A Madea Christmas
Eileen (Virtua Fighter), a character in the game Virtua Fighter 5

See also
Eileen Browne (disambiguation)
Eileen O'Connell (disambiguation)
Aileen, a given name
Aylin, a given name
Helen (disambiguation)
Ilene, a given name
Evelyn (disambiguation)

English feminine given names Eileen Grimshaw (also Phelan) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. Portrayed by Sue Cleaver, the character first appeared on-screen during the episode airing on 3 May 2000. Her storylines have often included her relationships with Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale), Ed Jackson (Chris Walker), Pat Stanaway (Sean Hughes), Jerry Morton (Michael Starke), Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson), Paul Kershaw (Tony Hirst), Adrian Mortimer (Mark Moraghan) and Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis), as well as her marriage to serial criminal mastermind Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre).

The character also appeared in the mini-episode crossover between Coronation Street and rival soap EastEnders entitled East Street screened on 19 November 2010 in aid of children's charity Children In Need. In 2011, it was revealed that she and half-sister Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh) were related to Coronation Street icon, Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix), as Elsie's first cousin, Arnley Grimshaw, was their paternal grandfather. In 2018, Cleaver took a temporary break from the show.

Storylines

Eileen first appears on 3 May 2000. Vikram Desai (Chris Bisson) gives Eileen a ride in his cab and, impressed by her local knowledge, ends up employing her to operate the radio at his taxi firm, StreetCars, which he runs with Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). She demands £5.50 an hour.

A feisty single mum, Eileen comes from a family of eight. She rents Steve's house and moves in with her teenage sons, Jason (Ryan Thomas) and Todd (Bruno Langley). In the early days, she does not approve of Jason's aspirations to be an athlete. A couple of years later, Todd comes out as gay.

Eileen has had many relationships since the character's introduction. Her relationship with biker Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale) ends when he admits he is love with Janice Battersby (Vicky Entwistle), resulting in Eileen punching Janice. Following Jason and Candice Stowe (Nikki Sanderson) placing an ad for her in a lonely hearts column in a newspaper, she dates cleaner Harry Flagg (Iain Rogerson) but they decide to remain friends. She dates Ernest Bishop's killer, Ed Jackson (Chris Walker), despite disapproval from most of the Street. It is during this relationship with Ed, a born-again Christian, that Eileen comes to the conclusion that she is agnostic. In 2007, she meets Pat Stanaway (Sean Hughes), who she assumes is married and has an "affair". Pat is not married as he does not like serious relationships as he was dating six other women at the time. She dates kebab shop owner Jerry Morton (Michael Starke), but dumps him in 2008 after he begins taking more of an interest in his children rather than her.

Eileen's arch enemy is Gail Rodwell (Helen Worth) and they have had several fights in the street. The pair constantly spar whenever they cross paths. The feud begins when her son, Todd, moves in with Gail's daughter, Sarah (Tina O'Brien) as Eileen feels that Sarah, a single mother, is holding Todd back from achieving in life. This seems to be proved when Sarah falls pregnant, but the baby, a boy named Billy, died shortly after being born prematurely following a placental abruption. Todd's announcement that he is gay and having an affair with Karl Foster causes a catfight in the street. The two women are at loggerheads again when they are attracted to reflexologist Phil Nail (Clive Russell); Gail eventually wins his affections. This rivalry results in Eileen being the prime suspect when Gail is stalked by someone claiming to be her late husband, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron), in 2006. Eileen is cleared when David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) is revealed as the true culprit. Eileen's son Jason married Gail's daughter Sarah in October 2007, and divorced in 2010.

On Christmas Day 2006, Eileen is surprised when a young woman drops a baby off, claiming that Jason is the father. Eileen takes responsibility for the little girl, whom they call Holly because she arrives during the Christmas period. Jason does not want her and tells Eileen that she is not his, but Eileen refuses to believe him, so Jason ends up calling Children's Services in desperation. He admits that he called them, but he is fond of baby Holly. However, Eileen is shocked on 9 April 2007 when Holly's mother returns as she has realised that Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward) is Holly's real father, after seeing his picture in the paper during Tracy Barlow's (Kate Ford) trial. She tells Eileen that he introduced himself as Jason Grimshaw and asks Eileen to give Holly back but Eileen refuses and throws her out, threatening to call the police. Knowing that Eileen has no legal claim to the woman's daughter, she calls Children's Services and they tell Eileen that they will be coming to collect Holly so Eileen decides to run away with her. Eileen's nemesis, Gail Platt, finds out and persuades her to return Holly to her mother. A tearful Eileen returns Holly on 25 April 2007.

On 12 December 2008, Eileen's father Colin (Edward DeSouza) arrives. He meets Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) in the bookies and as he places a bet, Eileen phones him wanting to know where he is and he lies, claiming to be on the bus to Weatherfield. He was known for his betting and drinking and this causes a row when they meet.

In February 2009, Eileen is stunned to discover that an old school friend of hers, Paula Carp (Sharon Duce), left school early after falling pregnant at fourteen years old. When she learns that Street resident, Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh), is Paula's daughter. When Paula finds out that Julie and Eileen live on the same street, she begins acting strangely and is hostile to Colin when she sees him. On 27 April 2009, during Colin's seventieth birthday party in The Rovers, Eileen is horrified to learn that Colin is Julie's father after a drunken Paula reveals the truth, making Julie and Eileen half-sisters. Struggling with this bombshell, Eileen blames Paula for wrecking her parents' marriage as Eileen had blamed her mother but realises that Paula was a victim of abuse and makes amends with her a few days later. When Colin visits, trying to explain his actions, Eileen is disgusted. During the visit, Colin suffers a stroke, but Eileen refuses to take him to hospital. He is released from hospital and Jason and Julie convince Eileen to let him stay with her until they can find him somewhere to live but he dies of a heart attack.

In 2009, Eileen starts dating children's entertainer, Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson). He moves into Eileen's house, along with his parrot named John. In 2010, cracks begin appearing in the relationship after Eileen suspects that he is attracted to Julie and he takes his parents on holiday instead of her, following a bet that he wins. Eileen throws him out but he returns, attempting to reconcile with her but Eileen insists that he leave after she discovers that he made a pass at Julie.

In July 2010, builder Owen Armstrong (Ian Puleston-Davies) catches Eileen's eye and she is delighted when they date a few times and does some admin work at the builder's yard. However, Owen is more interested in Eileen's friend, Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) and he starts dating her behind Eileen's back. Eileen is disgusted when she discovers that Owen and Liz are an item and plots revenge on Owen for the way he used her. In January 2011, Eileen discovers that her roof has been damaged after the tram crash and asks Owen to have a look. He tells her that the tiles are damaged and there is water damage in the interior walls, costing about £3,000 to fix. Eileen gets an insurance inspector to have a look but Jason thinks he is spying on his girlfriend, Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan), and punches him so the inspector refuses to help Eileen; who steals a cheque for £10,000 that Carla Connor (Alison King) has left for Owen and cashes it. Owen finds out and offers to have a look at the house and tells Eileen that he knows she has taken his money and she will pay for it. Upset, she tells Julie what has happened and they devise a plan to break into the builder's yard to get documents that prove that Owen has been committing tax evasion for years. The sisters successfully blackmail Owen with this so he agrees to fix the roof. Several weeks later, Owen gets revenge for Eileen's blackmail by letting himself into her house and retrieving the paperwork Eileen stole after she tells Sunita Alahan about his dodgy business practices. He destroys the evidence and calls the police, reporting Eileen for the cheque she stole and she is arrested for fraud. Eileen admits her guilt and, as it is her first offence and she returned the money, she is released with a caution.

Eileen meets Paul Kershaw (Tony Hirst), a fireman, when her head is caught in the railings on her birthday on Underworld'''s roof. They start dating, but Marcus sees Paul with another woman in Freshco's, making Eileen angry so she visits Paul to demand answers and Paul's wife, Lesley (Judy Holt), answers the door. Eileen shouts at Lesley but she is confused. Paul comes to the door and tells Lesley to go inside, explaining to Eileen that Lesley has Alzheimer's disease, which explained why she didn't understand Eileen's question. Eileen and Paul stay friends and Paul helps Eileen when Eileen told Sunita that she would get somebody for the local school's safety day. Eileen invites Paul and Lesley to her house for Christmas dinner but they pull out after Lesley has a fall. Eileen goes on a speed dating night at Nick Tilsley's (Ben Price) Bistro and meets a man called Hank. They soon argue which ends up in Eileen pushing Hank into the fire alarm. Paul comes to the scene expecting a fire but Eileen asks him for a drink. One day, Paul asks Eileen if she would take care of Lesley while he is at work. Eileen does so, but she later regrets it when Lesley beats her up and physically throws her out of her own home. Jason takes Eileen to the café to calm down, but while she is at the café, Lesley dies after being electrocuted by the toaster. After Lesley's funeral, Paul and Eileen become a proper couple. Eileen becomes suspicious that Paul is having an affair with his colleague Toni, but he is actually planning a romantic proposal. Paul walks out and goes to The Rovers soon followed by Eileen who asks for forgiveness. Paul gets down on one knee and asks her to marry him.

As Paul, Jason and other men from Weatherfield take part in The Full Monty evening at the Bistro for charity, The Rovers is set on fire by Karl Munro, as part of an elaborate plan he has devised to win back ex-fiancée Stella. Norris Cole (Malcolm Hebden) alerts the Bistro, and Eileen is horrified when she witnesses Paul risk his life to save Stella Price (Michelle Collins) and Karl Munro (John Michie) from the burning building. Luckily, Paul manages to save himself, Stella and Karl from the flames, but Paul's friend Toni Griffiths (Tara Moran) perishes as the roof collapses on her. The next day, Paul grieves for Toni, and Eileen is petrified of Paul returning to work in case he dies like Toni did. After numerous arguments and several weeks off work, Paul finally returns to work at the fire station, worrying Eileen. Convinced Paul is not ready to return to work after Toni's death, Eileen visits Paul's boss and asks if he can have more time off. Unfortunately for Eileen, Paul walks in on her and his boss discussing this. The pair return home where they have an explosive argument and Paul decides to move in with Julie and her partner Brian Packham (Peter Gunn). This infuriates Eileen, leading to her rowing with Julie in the café. Eileen discovers the tickets for her and Paul's holiday to Egypt come through the door, and decides to take Julie on the holiday instead. She later regrets this when Julie says she wants to have an adventure with Eileen, whereas Eileen just wants to relax and forget all her troubles on the holiday. Paul reveals he is leaving the Street to work in North Yorkshire, upsetting Eileen. Her friend Deirdre Barlow (Anne Kirkbride) convinces her to go and find Paul and tell him not to leave her. She does so, and Paul and Eileen reunite as a couple, much to Deirdre and Julie's pleasure.

Eileen finds it difficult to get to sleep at night, worrying about Paul and whether he has died in a fire while at work. She decides to take some sleeping pills, but ends up falling asleep at work. When she wakes up, she is rude to Gary Windass (Mikey North) and is confronted by her colleagues, Steve and Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles). Eileen hears from her lodger Sean and son Jason that there has been a large house fire in Weatherfield and asks Paul whether he had been called to it when he returns. He tells Eileen he had been on a hoax call, but then reveals to Sean and Jason that he had been saving people from the house fire. The next day, a young boy named Paddy Kinsey (Sonny Cusworth), his mother Megan (Louise Atkins) and news reporter Will Reade (Dominic Doughty) arrive at Eileen and Paul's house and Eileen discovers that Paul was in fact at the house fire, and not at a hoax call. Paddy, Megan and Will reveal how serious the fire was, which stuns Eileen, Jason and Sean. This infuriates Eileen, as Paul decided to lie to her instead of telling her the truth.

Eileen eventually comes to terms with Paul working at the fire station. Whilst playing darts at the Rovers with Jason and Steve, an oblivious Paul makes a racist comment just as Lloyd Mullaney (Craig Charles) and his daughter Jenna Kamara (Krissi Bohn) enter the pub, which angers them both as they are black. Paul is infuriated when Lloyd casts him a racist, and the pair nearly come to blows in The Rovers. Soon, the whole Street assume that Paul is racist, which makes Eileen feel ashamed. Paul will not apologise to Lloyd as he fears he will actually be considered a racist if he does. Eileen and Lloyd's partner Mandy Kamara (Pamela Nomvete) both agree that the pair should put it behind them, which it appears to be, before Jenna's girlfriend Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent) calls Paul's work and reports him for racism. Paul's boss pays him a visit at Eileen's house, suspending him from work until further investigation. Paul sees red and punches Lloyd in the street, as many locals watch in horror. Before the pair descend into fighting, two policemen arrive and split them up. Paul is arrested and questioned, but the whole event leads to further strain on his and Eileen's relationship. Eileen later watches as Paul shouts at Sophie in the street, which leads to Eileen and Sophie's mother Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) sharing a scrap in The Rovers. The feud puts pressure on Lloyd and Mandy's relationship too, which results in Mandy leaving Weatherfield. Paul invites Lloyd, Steve and Brian to a few drinks in town, but is furious when his mates from the fire station do not attend. He says it is because they think he is a racist, and he shouts at Lloyd when a group of men approach them. Later, as Lloyd is leaving the pub, the group of men attack him, pinning him up the wall and it transpires that they are a gang of racists. Paul arrives and saves Lloyd, which puts the arguing behind them. They arrive back in Weatherfield to reveal the good news to Eileen, but she is not impressed as Paul did not do anything about it sooner. They discuss how supportive she was when Lesley was alive, and how Paul would have left Eileen if Lesley did not have Alzheimer's disease. She then runs upstairs in anger. There is further upset for Eileen when Paul leaves Weatherfield for good.

Eileen is thrilled when her son Todd returns, although it becomes clear he has changed while he has been in London. She is forced to give him £500 so that he can pay back the people he has scammed money off. Eileen then learns that Todd cheated on his former boyfriend Jools Creme (Ben Allen) as he had an affair with a man named Alex. She is later shaken when Jason's estranged father Tony Stewart (Terence Maynard) returns to the street in 2014, and is not very pleased when Liz begins flirting with him. She is later unhappy when she discovers that Todd has had sex with Marcus Dent (Charlie Condou), who is in a serious relationship with Maria Connor (Samia Ghadie). She later begins a feud with Liz when she learns that she has entered a relationship with Tony and is later ashamed of Todd when his affair with Marcus is revealed. She has several arguments with Liz over Tony, and Liz later thinks that Eileen is jealous. As the feud progresses, Liz and Eileen eventually forgive one another. Eileen is later concerned when her friend Lloyd suffers a heart attack during Hayley Cropper's (Julie Hesmondhalgh) charity fun run.

After an argument with Todd, Eileen orders him to leave the family home, and while he is walking the streets in town, Todd is violently mugged and beaten up by a gang of thugs. He is rushed to hospital, and is told that he may have permanent scarring on his face. He blames Eileen and Jason for the attack, however keeps this to himself. In 2015, Eileen begins internet dating and meets a man named Adrian Mortimer (Mark Moraghan). She goes out with Adrian on numerous occasions, but Todd – attempting to exact revenge on his mother and brother for his attack – sets up a fake account on the same website and pretends to be a man named Jeff who lives in Dubai. Eileen soon decides that she prefers Jeff to Adrian, much to Todd's delight. Todd also makes Jason believe that his girlfriend Eva Price (Catherine Tyldesley) is having an affair with Tony, leading to Eva moving to New York to live with her mother as she believes Jason does not trust her. After Eileen reveals to Adrian that things are not working out, Todd arrives and reveals to a heartbroken Adrian that Eileen has met somebody else and reveals that he is Jeff. He also reveals that he broke Jason and Eva up, leading to Jason punching Todd in the face. Todd then leaves Weatherfield after the heated argument, and Eileen is distraught at how evil Todd has become. Eileen allows Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis) to move in with her after he discovers that his wife, Gail, lied to her about his son, Gavin (Mark Holgate), and discovering that Andy Carver (Oliver Farnworth) has been pretending to be his son. After a public argument with Gail, Michael gets drunk with Eileen, leading to them kissing. As they begin to have sex, Michael collapses and suffers a heart attack, leaving Eileen heavily humiliated. Michael admits the kiss with Gail out of guilt, but she storms over to the salon and starts throwing hair conditioner bottles at Eileen. The fight spills into the street, with Gail throwing her shoe at Eileen and Eileen pushing Gail to the ground.

In July 2015, Eileen is informed by Gail that her good friend Deirdre has died. She and Liz recollect their fond memories of Deirdre, before attending her funeral.

Development
Personality
Eileen has been described as "a down-to-earth, pragmatic type of character". Sue Cleaver has expressed how much she likes the variation in Eileen's development, with storylines ranging from "comic capers" to "serious": "I lurch between the light-hearted and serious. There's been lots of heavy drama stuff with [Eileen's sons] Todd and Jason. So it's really nice to have the relief of the scenes in the taxi office, [Eileen's workplace], where it's more upbeat. I get to play the whole spectrum, which is fun [...] As an actor, you do not often get an opportunity to keep building on your character and finding new aspects to them. If you're doing a film or TV series, it's over in three months, whereas in something long-running, I can really understand my character and know them inside out like another human being. The challenge is to delve a little bit deeper into Eileen's psyche, which I really enjoy doing."

Cleaver has stated that there are similarities between her own personality and Eileen's: "On a soap, you can't come in and create a character that's very far removed from yourself, because it's such a lot of work, so of course there are elements to Eileen that I've brought in. But I think we're very different. She's more generous than I am quite frankly!" She has added, "I think Eileen is happy. She's a very together person [...] She's got a very realistic view [...] I think there are a lot of women who would aspire to be like her, how she holds everything together and juggles her job, the kids and everyone else's problems."

Friends and enemies
The character has been involved in various feuds since her introduction in 2000. Eileen's most prominent and long-running feud has been with Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth. The characters have a long history of catfights and insults between them, animosity that stems from the acrimonious break-up of Eileen's son, Todd and Gail's daughter, Sarah. In one famous scene, Gail flings herself at Eileen after being soundly slapped and told to "Go home, Gail!" Despite this, various things, including the 2010 tram crash, have caused them to put aside their differences. In 2015, Eileen knew Gail past and discover that it her feud with her was like her former mother-in-law Ivy Tilsley.

Cleaver has commented, "Eileen's relationship with Gail is horrendous [...] I love all the scraps in the street with Gail. Helen Worth (who plays Gail) and I love doing all that – we have such a laugh with the abusive comments we make for each other. The constant battle is fun. It's a love-hate relationship." Worth has suggested that Gail probably thinks she is "a little better than Eileen" Jenny Platt, who played Violet Wilson between 2004 and 2008 has noted that "Gail's found her nemesis in Eileen, but it's so stupid because actually they are so similar. They are both single mums looking out for their kids."

Media critic Grace Dent has summarised the dislike that exists between the characters in a review in The Guardian in 2006: "Like most fine inter-family feuds, no one knows the true beginning, but it's safe to say that Coronation Street's Eileen Grimshaw and Gail Platt have hated each other for ages. Eileen sees Gail's daughter Sarah Lou as a giant, repugnant, mascara-clad Venus flytrap, suckering in baby-daddies for her illegitimate brat Bethany. Gail Platt thinks Eileen's kids Todd and Jason are scummy, duplicitous, gutter-dwellers and their mother a snivelling apologist for their catalogue of spite. When Eileen's son, Todd, dated Sarah-Lou, he passed up the chance to study at Oxford University [...] When eventually Eileen stopped fantasising about trapping Sarah-Lou's head in Fred Elliott's bacon slicer, Sarah-Lou had set her eye on Todd's half-brother Jason. Both Gail and Eileen took this news with deep umbrage. Eileen knew Jason could do much better than this drippy, yo-yo-knickered little strumpet. Meanwhile, Gail knew Sarah-Lou was worth more than that slack-jawed, apostolic follower of Charlie Stubbs."

One of Eileen's most enduring on-screen relationships has been her friendship with her boss Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson). Cleaver has said that she enjoys Eileen's "constant bickering with Steve". She has revealed that she and Gregson play jokes with the bookings diary on Eileen's desk during filming of the cab office, where both characters work: "We write comments about each other in it. When you see me scribbling in the book, think of the rudest things possible and they're in there". In 2007, both characters were featured in a special week of off-set episodes, filmed on location in Malta. The friends decide to take a trip together amid Steve's relationship problems with Michelle Connor. A Coronation Street spokesperson said: "We're excited about going out to film this storyline in Malta. Both Steve and Eileen's love lives are looking pretty bleak, so they decide to escape to the sunshine. It'll be great fun." Press rumours began to circulate about a possible romantic pairing between the characters; however, this proved to be a red herring, Eileen spends the night in bed with a drunken Steve to avoid sleeping in discomfort on the floor. During the episodes, some of Malta's historic streets and churches, landscapes and Gozo's red sand beach Ramla Bay were featured. It was predicted in the media that British tourism trade to Malta would significantly increase due to the screening of the episodes. When discussions about filming on the island began, UK-based site YourMalta.com commented, "it could be a major boost [...] A half hour episode on Malta will reach more people over a longer period of time than a tourist authority could hope to with a series of twenty or thirty second advertisements, it would be worth millions in equivalent advertising." Property website easier.com stated that "viewers have been captivated by the sun-soaked honey-coloured buildings, the charming historic streets and churches and beautiful landscapes not to mention the glorious red sand beach of Ramla Bay. It was hard not to be envious as Eileen and Steve sipped cocktails next to the pool in the gleaming sunshine and this lifestyle was all the more alluring when the camera’s panned back to the dreary streets of Weatherfield."

Romances
The character's history includes numerous failed romances. Eileen's first known screen partner was Dennis Stringer (Charles Dale), who left her in 2001 following an affair with her best friend at the time, Janice Battersby. Next, Eileen fell for Ed Jackson (Chris Walker) in 2006, before discovering he had served time in prison for killing Emily Bishop's husband Ernest in a storyline that screened in 1978. Commenting on Eileen's relationship with Ed, Sue Cleaver has said, "She'd have loved it to work with Ed but she knew it wouldn't while he was on a mission to absolve himself of his sins. It would be great if Chris came back. I loved working with him, and he really would like to come back."

It was announced in 2007 that comedian Sean Hughes would be joining Coronation Street as Pat, a love interest for Eileen. A source told Daily Mirror, "They meet in the [Rovers Return] and get on like a house on fire. It's not very long before they are enjoying steamy sessions. It's a great coup to have Sean play the role. It's a mixture of serious and comical. He and Sue have a good chemistry to make the story work really well". However, the relationship soured when Eileen discovered he was a serial womanizer. A romance with Jerry Morton fizzled out on-screen in 2008, when Eileen dumped him. Actor Michael Starke, who was axed from his role as Jerry Morton in 2008, has been critical about the way Eileen and Jerry's romance "died such an early death". In an interview, he commented, "There was even talk of babies! But it fizzled out – it went absolutely nowhere. It was never explained to me".

It has been noted that Eileen has "not had much luck in love", although Cleaver maintains that viewers should not feel sorry for her character, adding that Eileen is "very happy" and "together". She adds, "People forget that she's had proposals of marriage and turned them down."

Reception
Eileen Grimshaw has been described as "a firm favourite with fans". Actress Sue Cleaver has commented on her character's popularity to the Belfast Telegraph in 2007: "Everyone seems to love Eileen. I've never had anybody come up and say they don't like her, so I suppose that's a good thing. She's an accessible character and I think everybody knows an Eileen. There's an Eileen in every street." Low Culture columnist Ruth Deller has included the character as one of the best soap creations during the 2000s. She stated, "Eileen arrived as the decade was just beginning and she’s kept us entertained throughout. Sue Cleaver is great and so is the character. A classic soap matriarch she has the potential to be one of the most enduring and popular characters the Street has ever seen." In 2007, actress Sue Cleaver was recognised for her role as Eileen with a TV Now award for 'Favourite Female Soap Star'.

Sue Cleaver has revealed that she received letters of complaint from viewers when Eileen was shown to have a one-night stand with a boilerman: "I had so many letters of complaint about the one night stand she had with the boiler man. People said she wouldn't do that. She bloody well would! She's got two kids, she's been around the block a bit." In 2009, Digital Spy editor Kris Green praised Sue Cleaver's part in the Julie/ Paula/ Colin reveal when he stated; 'The outstanding performances from Katy Cavanagh (Julie) and Sharon Duce (Paula) mixed with Street legend Barbara Knox (Rita) and the still criminally underused Sue Cleaver (Eileen) make for compelling viewing' Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap'' opined that "poor" Eileen should join a convent because all of her romances end badly.

References

External links
Eileen Grimshaw at itv.com

Coronation Street characters
Television characters introduced in 2000
Fictional factory workers
Fictional machinists
Fictional mariticides
Fictional bartenders
Female characters in television
Fictional people from Manchester